La World Road Association e le Gallerie Stradali La produzione tecnica e le attività dell’AIPCR sul tema delle gallerie stradali

Road tunnel operations Since 1957, date of creation by PIARC of the "Committee on Road Tunnels", the Association has conducted an ongoing activity on all matters relating to the operation of road tunnels: geometry, equipment and maintenance, operating, safety and environment. PIARC produced 35 Technical Publications concerning Road Tunnels Operations The Road Tunnels Manual The QRAM Software

PIARC recommendations PIARC recommendations for taking into account the objectives of Directive 2008/96/EC on road infrastructure safety management, in the context of road tunnels, when implementing Directive 2004/54/EC on minimum safety requirements for tunnels in the trans-European road network

Road Tunnels Manual The new version of the web-based "Road Tunnels Manual" was introduced to the public on the occasion of the 25th World Road Congress in Seoul on 3 November 2015 The Road Tunnels Manual focuses exclusively on the aspects linked to the use of road tunnels (geometry, tunnel equipment and maintenance, operations, safety, environment). The Manual does not cover the civil engineering of tunnels (geology, geotechnics, retaining structure, surfacing, waterproofing, drainage, etc.), except aspects linked to the consequences on the operation and maintenance of the tunnels.

Road Tunnels Manual The Manual includes three main sections: introduction; the second part deals with cross-disciplinary aspects of tunnels; the third part is about the characteristics of tunnels with regard to the operational and safety requirements. The Manual also provides reference to useful websites. The version in English, French and Spanish are already on line. Seven more language versions will gradually be included in the new website in Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Portuguese.

TRANSVERSE ASPECTS The first part of the Manual considers general aspects of road tunnels. Chapter Strategic Issues presents the principal strategic elements of which any decision maker must take into account before making a decision concerning the choice or the design of a tunnel. This chapter is addressed particularly to the decision makers and to the designers of countries that are starting to tackle the construction or major refurbishment of a tunnel.Strategic Issues

Chapter Safety deals with the crucial topic of safety in tunnels. In particular, it considers methods for risk analysis.Safety

Chapter Human Factors regarding Tunnel Safety considers the human aspects that affect the operation of road tunnels. The severe fires in 1999 and 2000 confirmed how important it is to take human behaviour into account at the design stage.Human Factors

Chapter Operation and Maintenance examines the management and the maintenance of tunnels for which, in addition to safety, durability is a key concern.Operation and Maintenance

Chapter Environmental Issues linked with Operation deals with the environmental aspects of road tunnel operations, not only in terms of air pollution but also noise and water pollution.Environmental Issues

OPERATIONAL AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS This second part of the Manual addresses particular elements of tunnels taking operational and safety requirements into consideration. Chapter Geometry addresses the geometrical characteristics of the tunnels and their influence on operation and safety.Geometry

Chapter Structural Facilities related to Operation and Safety deals with the structural facilities that support operations and safety and must be taken into account at the early stages in a tunnel project, and whose impacts should not be underestimated, particularly on costs.Structural Facilities

Chapter Equipment and systems reviews the different types of tunnel equipment and gives recommendations covering the whole of their lifecycle.Equipment and systems

Lastly, chapter Tunnel response to fire addresses the performance of materials, structures and equipment in fire.Tunnel response to fire

Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) Model for Dangerous Goods Transport through Road Tunnels What does the QRA model do? The software allows users to: compare the risks due to dangerous goods transport along alternative routes; for example, via the tunnel or an alternative open route evaluate issues associated with tunnel regulations; for example, the QRAM can be used to support the decision to choose the most relevant of the proposed ADR dangerous goods groupings for each specific road tunnel compare the risks along a route with acceptability criteria for individual and societal risks evaluate tunnel equipment options; for example, the QRAM can be used to compare the effects of changing the spacing between emergency exits. The software can be used to perform a risk analysis as required for dangerous goods transport by the European Directive 2004/54/EC on minimum safety requirements for tunnels in the trans-European road network.

Outputs Contour maps of individual risk along tunnel and open routes Societal risk presented as FN-curves, where F is the frequency of N or more fatalities (and/or injuries) Presentation of the QRA model The QRAM software is based on Microsoft Excel. There is a wide range of information that has to be gathered and prepared in order to run the QRAM. Notably, the user has to enter data to describe: routes, defined in sections; tunnel geometry (length, cross-section and vertical alignment), ventilation (specialist help may be required for complex tunnels), drainage, and emergency escape measures (warning systems, spacing of exits); traffic characteristics, including vehicle mix and traffic speeds, defined for each route section and traffic direction; population along the route. Input screens help to guide the user through the process of entering this data and running cases